Amazon Web Services (AWS) is trialling a zero cost, no obligation programme that offers local councils and government authorities access to consulting services, software, and infrastructure solutions.

The programme, currently being piloted in the UK, Ireland and Spain, lasts for three months and is designed to support government agencies to modernise their processes.

The programme is designed to demonstrate the benefits of digital transformation without risk or additional expense, as well as streamline the delivery of community services.

The AWS Government Transformation Team and its consulting partners will offer support to local councils to help them achieve their digital goals, while building and trialling proof of concepts (PoCs) to evidence the benefits of digital transformation. 

The programme has been running for several months in the UK. According to AWS, Swindon Borough Council has already improved its process for dealing with fly tipping. Artificial intelligence that analyses photos submitted by the public combined with intelligent route mapping has been introduced, and now clean-up times have fallen from an average of 10 days to four.

“AWS was really engaging, easy, and open to work with, and seemed to really care about the people of Swindon and the potential social good this project could do,” said Swindon Council Emerging Technologies Lead Sarah Talbot.

Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz, Vice President EMEA Public Sector at AWS added, “Through the programme’s UK trials, we have been able to quickly design compelling, repeatable, and scalable solutions for a number of local authorities in the UK. We’ve equipped them with the tools they need to address key issues and unlock innovation. We’re excited to be rolling this out to other local authorities in the UK, Ireland, and Spain.”